29 Feb 2012

Eleven minutes passed
before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by
her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating.
Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied
medical precedent to come back seemingly fine. Everyone wants Delaney
to be all right, but she knows she's far from normal. Pulled by strange
sensations she can't control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to
the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it?

Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with
similar abilities. At first she's reassured to find someone who
understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon
discovers that Troy's motives aren't quite what she thought. Is their
gift a miracle, a freak of nature-or something much more frightening?

For fans of best-sellers like Before I Fall and If I Stay, this is a fascinating and heart-rending story about love and friendship and the fine line between life and death.

Hayley Matthews is
determined to be the best cheerleader she can. She works hardand pushes
herself 110% all the time.Then Hayley finds a lump on her leg. The
diagnosis is cancer. The prognosis isunclear. She could lose her leg. Or
maybe her life.At first Haley is scared, terrified. In an instant,
everything she’s worked for seemsout of reach. But Haley is strong.
She’s going to fight this disease. She will not let ittake her life or
her dreams.

I read this one at the end of last year as a review copy from Netgalley and absolutely loved it. I can't wait to purchase my own copy and read it all over again. Such an emotional story.

MEET BECKY BLOOMWOOD, AN IRRESISTIBLE HEROINE WITH A BIG HEART, BIG DREAMS --- AND JUST ONE LITTLE WEAKNESS ...

Becky Bloomwood has what most twenty-five-year-olds only dream of: a
flat in London's trendiest neighborhood, a troupe of glamorous
socialite friends, and a closet brimming with the season's must-haves.
The only trouble is, she can't actually afford it --- not any of it. Her
job writing at Successful Saving magazine not only bores her
to tears, it doesn't pay much at all. Still, how can she resist that
perfect pair of shoes? Or the divine silk blouse in the window of that
ultra-trendy boutique? But lately Becky's been chased by dismal letters
from Visa and the Endwich Bank --- letters with large red sums she can't
bear to read --- and they're getting ever harder to ignore. She tries
cutting back; she even tries making more money. But none of her efforts succeeds. Her only consolation is to buy herself something ... just a little something ...

Finally, a story arises that Becky actually cares about,
and her front-page article catalyzes a chain of events that will
transform her life --- and the lives of those around her --- forever.

My Review - 6 out of 10

I vlog regularly with another fantastic friend of mine at Brewing Tea Bag You Tube Channel (the link is on the left hand side of my blog) and we pick a book each month to read and talk about throughout the month. For February, it was Confessions of a Shopaholic and below are the videos throughout the month...

27 Feb 2012

On 5th Avenue in New York City, two very different men are shopping for gifts for the women they love.

Gary is buying his girlfriend Rachel a charm bracelet. Partly to
thank her for paying for their holiday-of-a-lifetime to New York. But
mainly because he’s left his shopping far too late.

Whereas Ethan’s looking for something a little more special – an
engagement ring for the first woman to have made him happy since he lost
the love of his life.

But when the two men’s shopping bags get confused, and Rachel
somehow ends up with Ethan’s ring, the couples’ lives become
intertwined.

As Ethan tries to reunite the ring with the woman it was actually
intended for, he discovers this isn’t that easy. Does fate have other
ideas for the couples? Or is there simply a bit of Tiffany’s magic in
the air…

No, but 18-year-old Bria Sandoval wants to be. In a quest for
independence, her neglected art, and no-strings-attached hookups, she
signs up for a guided tour of Central America—the wrong one. Middle-aged
tourists with fanny packs are hardly the key to self-rediscovery. When
Bria meets Rowan, devoted backpacker and dive instructor, and his
outspokenly humanitarian sister Starling, she seizes the chance to ditch
her group and join them off the beaten path.

Bria's a good girl trying to go bad. Rowan's a bad boy trying to
stay good. As they travel across a panorama of Mayan villages, remote
Belizean islands, and hostels plagued with jungle beasties, they
discover what they've got in common: both seek to leave behind the old
versions of themselves. And the secret to escaping the past, Rowan’s
found, is to keep moving forward.

But Bria comes to realize she can't run forever, no matter what
Rowan says. If she ever wants the courage to fall for someone
worthwhile, she has to start looking back.

Kirsten Hubbard lends her artistry into this ultimate backpacker
novel, weaving her drawings into the text. Her career as a travel writer
and her experiences as a real-life vagabond backpacking Central America
are deeply seeded in this inspiring story.

20 Feb 2012

Alice King isn’t expecting the holiday of a lifetime when she sets
off with her classmates on a trip to the Scottish wilderness, but she’s
not exactly prepared for an experience beyond her darkest nightmares…

Alice and her best friend Cass are stuck in a cabin with Polly, the
social outcast, and Rae, the moody emo-girl. Then there’s Tara – queen
of mean. Powerful, beautiful and cruel, she likes nothing better than
putting people down.

Cass decides it’s time to teach Tara a lesson she’ll never forget.
And so begins a series of events that will change the lives of these
girls forever...

A compelling story of guilty secrets, troubled friendship and burgeoning love

19 Feb 2012

Below is an extract from Goddesss Test, the first book in the series. If you would like to read the blurb for Goddess Interrupted, please click here

In a modern-day take on
the myth of Persephone, 18-year-old Kate Winters is thrust into a
mythical world, where she must pass seven impossible tests and outsmart a
spiteful god in order to save the life of not just her mother but of
her captor as well.

In a modern-day take on
the myth of Persephone, 18-year-old Kate Winters is thrust into a
mythical world, where she must pass seven impossible tests and outsmart a
spiteful god in order to save the life of not just her mother but of
her captor as well.

My Review:

What a great book. I have to admit that I do not know a lot about greek mythology so it did take me a bit to try and figure out who was who (a couple that I had already heard before) but after reading this book I am definately going to be picking up more greek mythology books (fiction and non-fiction). Although there was a bit in the middle where I felt it dragged for me, it was well worth the extra concentration effort as this book as such an explosive twist at the end it definately made me stand up and pay attention.

Sonia's entire
village believes she has a gift, but it's only in leaving home that she
finds out who she truly is. A compelling tale from a rich new voice in
young adult fiction.

Sixteen-year-old Sonia Ocampo was
born on the night of the worst storm Tres Montes had ever seen. And when
the winds mercifully stopped, an unshakable belief in the girl's
protective powers began. All her life, Sonia has been asked to pray for
sick mothers or missing sons, as worried parents and friends press
silver milagros in her hands. Sonia knows she has no special powers, but
how can she disappoint those who look to her for solace? Still, her
conscience is heavy, so when she gets a chance to travel to the city and
work in the home of a wealthy woman, she seizes it. At first, Sonia
feels freedom in being treated like all the other girls. But when news
arrives that her beloved brother has disappeared while looking for work,
she learns to her sorrow that she can never truly leave the past or her
family behind. With deeply realized characters, a keen sense of place, a
hint of magical realism, and a flush of young romance, Meg Medina tells
the tale of a strongwilled, warmhearted girl who dares to face life's
harsh truths as she finds her real power

13 Feb 2012

Below is the blurb for book 1 in the series, Flying Blind. If you would like to read the blurb for Winging it please click here.

The next generation of shape-shifting dragons from the popular author of the Dragonfire novels.

Zoë Sorensson is perfectly normal, except she's been told she's
destined for great things. Zoë's the one female dragon shapeshifter of
her kind. But Zoë is at the bottom of the class when it comes to being
Pyr and her powers are AWOL, so she's sent to a Pyr boot camp.

Zoë quickly realizes that she has to master her powers yesterday,
because the Pyr are in danger and boot camp is a trap. The Mages want to
eliminate all shifters and the Pyr are next in line-unless Zoë and her
friends can work together and save their own kind.

12 Feb 2012

Zoë Sorensson is
perfectly normal, except she's been told she's destined for great
things. Zoë's the one female dragon shapeshifter of her kind. But Zoë is
at the bottom of the class when it comes to being Pyr and her powers
are AWOL, so she's sent to a Pyr boot camp.

Zoë quickly
realizes that she has to master her powers yesterday, because the Pyr
are in danger and boot camp is a trap. The Mages want to eliminate all
shifters and the Pyr are next in line-unless Zoë and her friends can
work together and save their own kind.

Publication Date: 2011Publisher: Allison &; Busby

My Review: 9 out of 10

If you would prefer to see the video review, please see the bottom of this post.

I have to admit that this is the first dragon book I have read. Up until now, I had thought that I would not like dragon stories but I am always willing to give something a go before deciding whether or not to like or not like it.This story was so fun to read, I really enjoyed it.

This story was so full of information about dragons, their way of life, how they change from human to dragon etc I was so glad that this was the book I had chosen to gently guide me into the ways of the dragon. Not only did the author describe information as it happens with the characters but also put in little lists of things such as 'Five Things the Pyr Can Do', 'Five Things about the Wyvern' and 'Five Things about Mages'. I am not sure if this is just specific to this story or dragon stories in general but I do hope to find out.

There are some wonderful characters in this book that I absolutely loved, Zoe being one of them. At the beginning of the story, she is unsure of herself and just waiting in the wings (excuse the pun) for her powers to come to her as she is supposed to be the Wyvern, which is a female dragon who has very special powers. There can only be one Wyvern living at any time. When she is sent away to a boot camp, she soon discovers she has more strength than she realised and even has more powers than she realised. Zoe also has a great sense of humour which comes through in Deborah's writing. I did laugh out loud at some of the things that Zoe comes out with.

I have to admit that at the boot camp there were quite a few characters in the mix that I did have a little trouble at the beginning trying to remember each character but that really didn't deflect from the story, which was so fun to read.

Sabrina, an artist, is diagnosed with schizophrenia, and her parents
check her into the Wellness Center. There she meets Alec, who is
convinced it's the world that's crazy, not the two of them. They are
meant to be together; they are special. But when Alec starts to convince
Sabrina that her treatment will wipe out everything that makes her
creative, she worries that she'll lose hold of her dreams and herself.
Should she listen to her doctor? Her decision may have fatal
consequences.

5 Feb 2012

Set against the backdrop of redwood forests and shimmering vineyards, Seré Prince Halverson's compelling debut tells the story of two women, bound by an unspeakable loss, who each claims to be the mother of the same two children. To Ella Beene, happiness means living in the northern California river town of Elbow with her husband, Joe, and his two young children. Yet one summer day Joe breaks his own rule--never turn your back on the ocean--and a sleeper wave strikes him down, drowning not only the man but his many secrets. For three years, Ella has been the only mother the kids have known and has believed that their biological mother, Paige, abandoned them. But when Paige shows up at the funeral, intent on reclaiming the children, Ella soon realizes there may be more to Paige and Joe's story. "Ella's the best thing that's happened to this family," say her Italian-American in-laws, for generations the proprietors of a local market. But their devotion quickly falters when the custody fight between mother and stepmother urgently and powerfully collides with Ella's quest for truth. The Underside of Joy is not a fairy-tale version of stepmotherhood pitting good Ella against evil Paige, but an exploration of the complex relationship of two mothers. Their conflict uncovers a map of scars--both physical and emotional--to the families' deeply buried tragedies, including Italian internment camps during World War II and postpartum psychosis.

Publication Date: 12th January 2012

My Review: 7 out of 10

This is a truly beautifully sad story touching on some very deep emptions. For me, this was a story that I had to sit up and pay attention to rather than one I could relax to. The range of emptions that the characters went through, I have to admit that I went through those same emptions to when following their story (sadness, happiness, despair, anger etc etc). With all that emption, I found this was a very exhausting read. Alongside the emotional characters there are some very emotional issues dealt with in this story such as the death of Joe, the father, husband and ex-husband.

There were times in this story that I sided with one or other of the characters, especially with Ella and Paige. At certain points in the story, I have to admit that I did side with one or the other character and that made for really interesting reading. I have to say that what made this story stand out for me is the character of Ella and they way that she stood up for what was right. That, in a character and in real life, is a trait that I admire.

Below is the blurb for Book 1, Delirium. If you would like to know more about Book 2 please Click Here

Lena Haloway is content
in her safe, government-managed society. She feels (mostly) relaxed
about the future in which her husband and career will be decided, and
looks forward to turning 18, when she’ll be cured of deliria, a.k.a.
love. She tries not to think about her mother’s suicide (her last words
to Lena were a forbidden “I love you”) or the supposed “Invalid”
community made up of the uncured just beyond her Portland, Maine,
border. There’s no real point—she believes her government knows how to
best protect its people, and should do so at any cost. But 95 days
before her cure, Lena meets Alex, a confident and mysterious young man
who makes her heart flutter and her skin turn red-hot. As their romance
blossoms, Lena begins to doubt the intentions of those in power, and
fears that her world will turn gray should she submit to the procedure.